


the only one to blame

by avengerskye



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: And Hope is 14, F/F, Hope is still Hope Marshall, Josie is like 12, Pre-Legacies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23436055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengerskye/pseuds/avengerskye
Summary: Josie gets an assigned seat next to the closed off Hope Marshall in Spell Class.This leads to a deep crush and a series of bad decisions.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 34
Kudos: 190





	the only one to blame

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> I couldn't keep this out of my head, so I wrote it.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy.

Your sister is the first one to argue when your teacher announces that he'll be assigning everyone new seats. She's being loud, and a little obnoxious, but you don't say anything. You blush as she rants about the two of you being twins, which according to Lizzie means you can't be separated. It doesn't change your teacher's mind though, to Lizzie's greatest displeasure. So you carefully gather your books and wait for your name to be called out since you're in the pile of names that will have to move. 

"Josie, you go sit next to Hope."

Your heart skips a beat when the name falls from your teacher's lips. Hope. As in older, and closed off Hope Marshall. As in the girl who always refused to be yours and Lizzie's friend. 

"Josie? Please go find your new seat next to Hope." Your teacher tells you one more time.

You see Lizzie sending you a distressed look, so you take her hand and give it a little squeeze before you go. You walk to the back of the class, where you know Hope Marshall usually sits. Alone. Her head is down and her hair masks her face as she's writing something down. As soon as you take your new seat next to her, she lifts her head and sees you. Your eyes grow a little when she quickly closes her notebook, and you couldn't say for sure but you think you saw some drawings in there. 

"What are you doing here?" Hope asks.

She looks half confused and half panicked. You give her an easy and warm smile, you're used to being kind. Even to those who are not to you.

"Didn't you hear?" Josie asks. "The teacher gave us new assigned seat."

Understanding crosses Hope's face. "Oh… I didn't hear, my attention was… elsewhere."

You briefly wonder if she's talking about what she'd been drawing in her notebook, or if it's about something else entirely. But you don't ask, of course you don't ask. Actually, you fully expect the conversation to be over now. So, when Hope speaks again, it takes you by surprise.

"Your sister must be mad." Hope says.

You quickly turn your head to look at the auburn haired girl, because you could swear she said that in a playfull voice. When your eyes fall on her, your heart skips another beat. Hope Marshall has a smirk on, and she's entirely too beautiful right now. Then, your brain catches up with your heart and you frown. Of course she's happy to learn your sister is mad since they've been at war for years now. 

"Can't you be nice for more than five seconds?" You ask, surprising even yourself.

You're surprised to see the older girl actually look sorry. She avoids your eyes and… is she blushing?

"I didn't mean to… I'm sorry."

You sigh. "It's fine, but we're gonna sit next to each other for what's left of the year. So can you please not say mean things about Lizzie? Let's just be mature enough to go through these classes."

She looks a little taken aback. "Uh, yeah. Of course."

You sigh again, and some tension leaves your body. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

* * *

In the next couple of weeks, Hope Marshall becomes a familiar presence by your side during Spell Class. She helps you when you mix up some words, and you lend her your notes when she didn't pay attention to what the teacher was saying. During those weeks, you learn some things about Hope Marshall. 

You learn that she wears her hair up when she's having a bad day, and down when she's having a good day.

You learn that she does little drawings in her notebook during classes, and some of them represent your teacher as a lizard. 

You learn that Hope Marshall is actually really nice when Lizzie's not around you. 

You also learn that she never misses class. 

Until she does.

You don't know what happened, your father refused to tell you and nobody else knows. You kind of miss her during class that day. You glance to the empty desk next to yours. You glance to the door too, somehow expecting Hope to come crashing class at any moment. But she doesn't. 

She doesn't show up the next either, and no other day that week. So you spend the week end writing a double of your notes for Hope, because she'll come back soon, she has to. You don't tell the truth to your twin though. You tell Lizzie you just want your notes to look neater when you'll study later. Your sister gives you a weird look, and you know why. You handwriting is already neat. You both know you don't need to do this. Your grateful that Lizzie actually let it go though.

On Monday, you walk into your Spell Class early. Relief floods through you as your eyes fall on Hope. She's already sitting down at her desk, her hair pulled in a high ponytail, and her eyes focused on her notebook as she's drawing. 

You swallow the lump in your throat and walk to your desk. You're not that surprised when she doesn't look up. By now, you've learned that Hope Marshall sometimes lives in her own world. Silently, you reach for the notes you wrote for Hope. You decided to not give her the ones you wrote during the week end, because it would make Lizzie suspicious. So you tore the notes from your notebook, and now you slowly push them until Hope has no choice but to look at them.

You watch as she quickly lifts her head to look at you, before her eyes fall on the paper you pushed towards her. Her eyes widen a little as she realizes what it is.

"I, uh, thank you." Hope says. 

You nod, and she goes back to her drawings. It kinda surprise you when she looks up again a few seconds later. 

"I was visiting my fa-... my mother." Hope gulps and looks down again. "It wasn't planned that's why I didn't tell you."

It kinda warms your heart that she decided to explain why she was missing the week before, so you can't help but send her a shy smile.

"You didn't need to explain anything to me… But I'm happy you did." You find yourself saying. "Did you have fun?"

"I guess." Hope settles her pencil down on her desk. "Are those pages of your notebook?"

You blush, of course you do. "Yeah. I couldn't give you the note I copied for you because Lizzie would've known and-"

Hope Marshall is laughing. You've never seen her laugh before. She's even more beautiful than when she's smiling. You know the feeling that's growing in your chest, but you also can't admit it yet. So all you do is look down as your blush darkens.

* * *

Spring Break is so close. You can't wait to be free for a whole week. You want to catch some sleep, have fun with your family and maybe even… No, she wouldn't want to spend time with you. She's probably going to visit her mom anyway. 

It's your last class before Spring Break, and you're so happy it's Spell Class. Hope is already sitting behind her desk, just like she always is. She's not drawing, but her pens are on her desk ready for her to use them. She smiles at you as you make your way to your own desk, a smile that you immediately reciprocate. It's the closest you've ever been to forming a friendship with her, and it kinda makes you proud. 

"Hi Hope!" You say as you sit down.

"Hey Jo." She replies, smile still on.

"Are you excited for Spring Break?"

"Yes, I actually am." Hope replies. "My mom should come pick me up tomorrow morning."

"That's awesome Hope! So, are you going home for the whole week?"

Hope nods. "That's the plan, yes." She pauses for a couple of seconds. "Your father said you guys are going on a road trip. You must be excited too."

"Yeah, but it's only for a couple of days. Dorian wants some days off too, you know?"

"Oh, yeah. So you spend what's left of Spring Break here?"

You nod, and she gives you a sorry look. You watch as Hope seems to think for a moment. Then, her eyes brighten up.

"Give me your hand." She says excitedly. 

You do. You give her your hand without even thinking about why she wants your hand. You silently watch as she takes her black pen and brings it near the skin of your hand. She looks up at you, silently asking for your permission. You nod, curious about what she'll do next. What she does next makes butterflies fly around in your stomach. Hope takes your hand in hers to steady it as she starts to draw on your skin. 

You have a big gay crush on Hope Marshall. 

There's actually no point in denying it anymore. Not when her smile makes your heart skip a beat. Not when her laugh makes your heart stop. And not when her taking your hand in hers makes butterflies appear in your stomach.

You're not stupid. You know what a crush feels like. You've had plenty of those before. What can you say? You easily care about people… and people are just so pretty? Boys, girls… It doesn't matter to you like it does to Lizzie. 

The thing is, Hope is the last person you would have expected to have a crush on. She used to not even glance your way. But now… Now Hope Marshall speaks to you during class, helps you with homework, and even draws on your hand. 

You watch as she draws a night sky on your hand. Stars, planets and the moon. Hope takes her time, and every little drawing is made with precision and care. Sometimes, the older girl uses a blue or purple pen, but she mostly uses the black one.

She only stops when the teacher hands you the test he prepared for today. The auburn haired girl puts your hand back on the desk, and her eyes meet yours. The shy smile she gives you makes you melt, and god damn it… Hope Marshall might actually make you fail this test, because all you can think about is her.

Later that night, long after your last class with Hope, you write her a note. Something short, but you put all your heart in it. You're lucky Lizzie went out with some witches, it gave you the time to write it. 

You wait until the next morning to slip the note in Hope's room. You wait around the corner down the hall where Hope's room is. When you see her leaving with her suitcase, you take your chance. You quickly go to Hope's room and slip the note under her door. 

You're about to stand up when your sister's voice stops you.

"Jo? What are you doing here?"

You stand up, and you look like a deer caught in headlights. 

"God, you're so obsessed with Hope, it's embarrassing." Your sister says with venom.

"How could I be obsessed with someone who says such mean things about my twin?"

You can't stop the words as they fall from your mouth. It's a lie. Hope never said anything about Lizzie since the first day you sat down next to her. You hate yourself right now. Because Lizzie looks devastated and it's your fault. She's gonna hate Hope even more now.

Maybe it's a good thing though. Because this way she won't try and get Hope to herself, like she did with Trevor last year. Your relationship with Hope will stay yours, even if it has to end.

You make up a story. A big story. Something about the episode Lizzie had a couple of days ago. Something you know is gonna hurt Lizzie real bad. 

Your sister storms out of the hallway, but you don't follow her. 

The note. You have to get rid of the note.

You kneel in front of the door and hesitate a little on your next move. You have no choice though. You whisper a fire spell and aims it to go under Hope's door. You hope it's only going to burn down the note. Before anyone can see you, you flee the scene. 

It's only later that day that you hear about the consequences of your actions.

Hope's mother had to cancel their week together, so Hope got back to her room shortly after you ran away. Your fire spell was a little too effective though, and her room was on fire when she got there. Half of her room was burned down, and your father has to stay to evalute the damages and renovate the room. Your road trip is cancelled, and Lizzie blames it on Hope.

Lizzie cries herself to sleep in your arms. You cry too, but you do it silently. 

* * *

You avoided Hope during Spring Break, even when she tried talking to you. 

You stood by Lizzie's side as she confronted Hope about what you accused her off. You watched the surprise on the auburn haired girl's face. She looked at you for support, but you gave none. You didn't miss the look of betrayal on her face, but you couldn't come clean. There was no way you could come clean.

Coming clean would mean admitting your crush, admitting you caused the fire and admitting you lied. 

You could deal with Hope hating you. What you couldn't deal with is your sister grabbing Hope's attention. 

For once in your life you allowed yourself to be selfish. 

Even if it meant hurting your sister, and the girl you could have loved.

**Author's Note:**

> So, did you like it ? :D


End file.
